Akirella
by Shinigami Yumi
Summary: Cinderella ala Hikaru no Go! Short multi-chap, temporarily on hiatus. Akira in a dress, as promised, and AkiHika all the way. Please r & r! .
1. Default Chapter

Project 001; Codename: Akirella  
  
Starring: Touya Akira as 'Cinderella' Shindou Hikaru as Prince Charming Fujiwarano Sai as The Fairy 'Godmother' Zama Ouza as The Evil 'Stepmother' Fujisaki Akari and Mitani Yuuki as The Evil 'Stepsisters'  
  
A/N: An important point to note would be that the references to each  
character will correspond to their role in the story regardless of  
gender. However, there are no switches of gender and the personal  
pronouns used will correspond to gender. Meaning that, in Zama Ouza's  
case of being the evil 'stepmother', he will be referred to in the story  
as the 'Duchess' or Akira's 'stepmother' but will continue to be a he.  
If whatever I just said sounds complicated, just read on and you'll most  
probably see what I mean. In any case, Mitani is still a guy and will be  
Akira's stepbrother. But since they can't exactly have two fathers, Zama  
Ouza is going to be referred to as 'mother'. I would also like to  
apologise before hand regarding the unkind portrayal of certain  
characters; no offense intended but this is a parody and someone's going  
to have to be the bad guy, so... go figure. But I don't apologise for  
the evil portrayal of Zama Ouza; that was deliberate as well as  
convenient. I hate him! How dare he say Akira isn't cute?! Anyhow, enjoy  
(I hope) and please review.  
  
PART 1  
  
Once upon a time, there was a land known as the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan. The Kingdom's neighbour to the east was the Empire of Keima, while its neighbour across the Northern Sea was a small island continent known as the Doll Island Empire. The people of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan all play Go and are called Kyu-Danes, while the people of the Empire of Keima all play Shougi and are known as Keimarians. As for the female-dominated population of the D.I.E., they all play dolls and are called Dollites. To foster peace, goodwill, and international relations, Shuusaku King Shindou of the ruling Nigiri Dynasty of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan had 'Princess' Tsutsui married off to Habu Emperor Kaga of the Empire of Keima and Royal Cousin Grand Duke Fukui Tengen married as Ken Prince to Barbie Empress Nase of the D.I.E., leaving Crown Prince Hikaru as Regent of Tengen. Now, our tale takes place during the reign of the current monarch, Shuusaku King Shindou. The Kingdom consists of seven duchies, namely Honinbou, Meijin, Ouza, Jyudan, Kisei, Gosei, and Tengen, of which Honinbou is the capital and residence of the royal family. Our story begins in the most skilled duchy after Honinbou, in the Go Salon estates of the Grand Duke Touya Meijin...  
  
* * *  
  
"Akira! When you've finished washing those Go stones, come wipe the Gobans over here!" a voice called from across the many rows of tables.  
  
"Hai, Akari-neesama!" replied a young boy dressed in a drab grey tunic, washing Go stones at a corner of the Komi Go Salon Estates.  
  
"And hurry up before I tell 'mother'," snapped a voice from behind.  
  
"Hai, Mitani-niisama," the boy replied, having to keep from snapping at the other to do it himself.  
  
Akira sighed. He had been his father's only child and life had been good until his mother, the Duchess Akiko passed away. The Grand Duke Meijin played Go with him almost everyday and taught him all kinds of strategies. But a year after his mother's passing, his father wed a new 'wife': the Dowager 'Duchess' Zama Ouza, who had brought with him his two children, namely Akari and Mitani who were both a few months Akira's senior. Akira merely heaved another sigh as he dried the last of the stones; he had long since given up feeling sorry for himself. Now, his 'stepmother' refused to let him play Go –obviously to keep him from inheriting the duchy since inheritances were based on Go skills and he was obviously much more talented than either Akari or Mitani- and instead forced him to clean Go paraphernalia all day everyday.  
And then there were his stepsiblings. Akari wasn't too bad, really; she was never kind but never cruel either. Mitani, on the other hand, was horrible; he cheated at Go and went out of his way to make Akira's already less than pleasant life miserable. If only he knew why Mitani hated him so strongly, he might be able to fix it but... Oh well, life's like that. Needless to say, the 'Duchess' himself was pretty much the devil incarnate –maybe that was an insult to the devil?- His father was never cruel to him but was rarely ever around to know about the ill-treatment he received anyway. Akira, of course wouldn't dare say a word about it lest he incur his 'stepmother's' wrath and thus bring more misery as well as Mitani's bullying upon himself.  
He sighed again as he lifted the bucket of clean Go stones and turned to walk back to where he had left the empty Go-tsubos, trying to look on the bright side of his very gloomy life. At least he still had some old kifu and joseki books that he had quickly hidden away in the attic. There were even several of the legendary first Shuusaku King Torajiro's games! He also had an old Goban and some stones at the back of an old oak cupboard in the attic. They were dusty and the shine had long since left the varnish, but they were still useable and... it was Go. How he yearned to play a game once more! He didn't care for the inheritance, he just wanted to play. But he had his 'stepmother's' ban and no one to play with, so he could only stare and run his fingers longingly and lovingly over the dusty surfaces, thinking about what once was and remembering the feel of placing each treasured stone on the board. Every once in a while, he would wake at the wee hours of the morning when everyone else was still sound asleep to recreate a game for himself, but it would never replace a real game with a real opponent. Still, it was better than nothing and for that alone, he was thankful.  
  
"Ow!" he cried as someone bumped into him, snapping him out of his reverie as he lost his balance and fell to the ground awkwardly with a soft thud, thus dropping the bucket and spilling the clean Go stones all over the ground.  
  
"Watch where you're going, you low-class good-for-nothing!"  
  
Mitani; he should have known. The guy's mission was to make his sad life a living hell anyway. He didn't know what sin he had ever committed against his 'stepsister' but he suspected there really wasn't a reason for it; Mitani just hated him and simply found perverse pleasure in tormenting him. Mitani did that on purpose, he knew, but making an issue out of the matter would only be inviting more misery. Thus, he swallowed his anger, kept his temper in check, bit back the list of harsh words running through his mind, and merely said as evenly as he could manage, "Gomen nasai, Mitani- niisama." Akira knelt down to pick up the scattered Go stones as Mitani made a show of storming off wordlessly and sighed; he was going to have to wash and dry about half the stones again. It was definitely going to be another long day.  
  
* * *  
  
Akira dropped wearily onto his hard sleeping pallet that was only a little better than the floor and tugged his blanket that was scarcely more than a large rag around himself. It was cold here most nights and he had some towels for the winter but still he'd be huddling up in a corner trying desperately to find warmth in the draughty attic that never seemed to keep the cold out, curled up in blankets that never seemed to keep the warmth in. But it was better than sleeping out in the snow and at least the attic, unlike the cellar where the servants slept, didn't have rats. He opened the old oak cupboard and longingly caressed the once polished surface of the old Goban.  
  
/Oh, if only I could play Go again!/ he thought with a sigh.  
  
Suddenly a shower of Go stones appeared from nowhere and a person with long purple hair wearing purple lipstick and a long robe of ancient design complete with an obsolete-styled cap materialized from the stones. He held a fan and looked –in Akira's opinion- very much like a goose. Akira backed away instinctively.  
  
"Who are you? Get away!" he cried out softly, for fear of waking the rest of the house.  
  
The other grinned. "I'm the resident Go Fairy, Akira, your Fairy 'Godmother'. Well, I've never heard of a fairy godfather anyway, so I'll just stick to the more popular title."  
  
"This sounds like a fucked up Cinderella story!" Akira muttered, half to himself.  
  
"Well, my name is Sai and the strength of your wish to play Go has reached me. I'm here to make you a great Go player, perhaps the greatest ever!" the fairy declared.  
  
Akira rolled his eyes. A Go Fairy. God, could his life get any more messed up? "Right."  
  
"Un! Play a game with me? Na... Utte! Utte! Utte!" Sai whined at him loudly, sounding for all the world like a spoilt three-year-old.  
  
Right. A Go Fairy that sounded like a spoilt brat of a toddler. Life sucked. Royally. "Fine," he agreed grudgingly. "Just quiet down; you'll wake the city."  
  
"Nope. No one can hear me but you."  
  
"And I'm the only one who can see you?"  
  
Sai nodded cheerfully.  
  
Akira rolled his eyes and got out the old Goban and stones.  
  
"You start," the fairy orders, suddenly serious.  
  
Akira nodded and methodically passed the Go-tsubo with white stones to Sai. The tsubo magically floated out of his hands to land beside the fairy who had knelt down opposite him. He raised an eyebrow at the magic.  
  
"Oh," the fairy remarked, noticing Akira's curious expression. "I'm not exactly solid, you see. I can't touch things of corporeal form, so I have to move things with magic." He demonstrated by trying to lift the Goban and his hand just passed through the board as if it wasn't there. "I can only touch people..." he reached out to lightly poke the other's arm. "... because they have souls."  
  
"Oh." Akira placed a stone on his upper left hoshi and watched with mild interest as a white Go stone floated out of its tsubo and onto his lower right komoku. He responded with a lower left hoshi and watched as another white stone floated over to land on his upper right komoku.  
  
Fifteen minutes later...  
  
"I've lost," Akira concedes, looking at the Goban in amazement. Maybe there really was a Go Fairy after all; Sai was extremely strong.  
  
"Hm... Talent, lack of practice. We're going to have to work on that. I'll come play with you every night," Sai announced calmly.  
  
Akira felt a burst of elation. He was going to play Go every night with such a strong player! Finally, an opponent with which to play Go! Maybe life wasn't so bad after all.  
  
* * *  
  
"Hmm... Kingdom Go Tournament..." the Dowager 'Duchess' Zama Ouza mused aloud to himself, gazing thoughtfully at the invitation card in his hand.  
  
Not too far away, Akira immediately turned his attention to his 'stepmother' even as he sat on the hall floor wiping a Goban clean. A Kingdom Go Tournament? All the best players in the Kingdom would probably attend then. It would be such a great opportunity to test and improve his skills now that he had been playing with Sai every night for half a year.  
  
"All members of the royal family will be in attendance and the presence of the nobility is greatly appreciated," the 'Duchess' read aloud from the card. He smirked at that. There had been rumours circulating for some time now that the Crown Prince Hikaru was looking for a wife and that he had rather flexible preferences. The first criteria would, of course, be excellent Go skills. That meant that if the Crown Prince was attending the tournament to choose a bride, both his children had a good chance. Perhaps he could be 'mother'-in-law to the king someday!  
  
"All members of the royal family will be in attendance..." Akira repeated softly to himself in a whisper. That meant that the Crown Prince Hikaru would be there! He wanted to play with the prince... It was said that he was a great Go player, better even than his father and his grandfather before him. Some even claimed he was the equal of the legendary first Shuusaku King Torajiro! That made him better than nearly all his predecessors! How he longed to play against such a great player! He moved on to wiping the next Goban. But could he? How was he going to convince his 'stepmother' to take him along? Still, hope ran eternal and he could at least ask.  
  
"Akari! Mitani!" his 'stepmother' called.  
  
"Yes, 'mother'?" Akari enquired as she and Mitani hurried down the steps.  
  
"There's going to be a Kingdom Go Tournament in two days time," the 'Duchess' announced calmly as his children came to a stop before him. "It will be held at the palace for three nights consecutively." He smiled an evil smile. "Polish your Go skills and practise more. You know about the prince," he informed them with a conspiratorial edge to his voice.  
  
Akari smiled shyly as Mitani smirked. She had always found the prince very cute and her brother always liked having great players at his side.  
  
Akira finally summoned up the courage to approach his 'stepmother' then. He stood and resolutely walked over to the Dowager 'Duchess'. "Please 'Mother', may I go with you to the Tournament?" he asked timidly.  
  
At that, Mitani laughed harshly. "You? Go to the Tournament? Oh puh-leeze!! You haven't played Go in years and you want to go for a tournament?! Goodness! Get a grip on yourself, kid; you'd embarrass the entire Duchy if you came with us!"  
  
Akira merely turned a deaf ear to Mitani's insults and looked up hopefully at his 'stepmother' instead.  
  
For a long time, he simply looked down at his stepchild. Then, he frowned. "You know what I said about you and Go. No, you are not to go to the Tournament." With that, he turned and walked away with his two children behind him leaving a very crushed Akira standing alone in the middle of the hall.  
  
* * *  
  
"Sai, 'mother' won't let me go to the Kingdom Tournament," Akira complained as the fairy materialized as usual in the attic, resolutely fighting back the tears as the waves of pain, sorrow, bitterness, disappointment, and anger washed over him. Normally indifferent to most things, when he did feel, he usually felt a myriad of emotions all at the same time and to extremes.  
  
"Na... Akira... Don't be sad!" cried Sai.  
  
"I've always wanted to play the prince and you're telling me not to be sad because I can't?!" he questioned in disbelief. "I don't believe this!"  
  
"Just because they won't let you doesn't mean you can't go," the other reasoned.  
  
"What? Do you mean you have a way to get me there?" Akira asked, immediately interested.  
  
"Of course."  
  
"How?" Finally, some good news. He was officially excited.  
  
"You'll see," the fairy replied as he disappeared in a shower of Go stones, leaving Akira to wonder alone what he had up those floppy white sleeves of his. 


	2. Part 2

PART 2  
  
Akira watched seemingly dispassionately as his father, 'stepmother', and stepsiblings got into the large horse-drawn carriage waiting for them at them at the mansion door. Truth was, his entire being was tingling with excitement as he silently wondered what plan Sai had contrived to get him to the Tournament. The 'Duchess' and his children were dressed in the latest in court fashions and Mitani looked –in Akira's opinion- like a Harlequin doll in his outfit. Evidently, fashion also dictated that Akari may as well not wear anything, given how scantily clad she was. Or perhaps it was the 'Duchess' Ouza's idea as part of his plan to become part of the royal family. It was rather well known that he thirsted incessantly for wealth and power. In fact, Akira strongly suspected that that was the reason behind his marriage to his father. He wasn't even sure whether the 'Duchess' was capable of loving anyone but himself anyway. Who knew whether or not he really even loved his own children? He waved goodbye with a small smile, as if trying to act cheerful and closed the mansion doors slowly as the carriage pulled away from the doorstep. The doors had scarcely clicked shut when he immediately raced up the stairs to the attic to find the chubby Go fairy already waiting there for him.  
  
"Right. How am I supposed to get to the palace?" he asked immediately, without even greeting the other or pausing to catch his breath.  
  
Sai simply grinned. "Magic Goban come to me; over hill and dale do carry me!" he chanted cheerily, his normal three-year-old self.  
  
Akira watched in amazement as a large Goban flew right through the attic window to land before Sai. "You're saying I should take that there?" he questioned incredulously. Just when he thought the idea of a Go fairy's existence was absurd enough on its own.  
  
"Yup! It's easy. Just say 'Magic Goban come to me; over hill and dale do carry me' when you want it to pick you up and then get onto it and tell it where you want to go. For instance, if you want to go to the palace, you say 'Magic Goban fly with me; to Wei Qi Palace carry me'. Just replace your destination accordingly when you want to go elsewhere," the fairy explained enthusiastically.  
  
"Okay..." Akira said slowly; he thought he understood. It did indeed sound simple enough. Then he remembered another problem. Two, in fact. "But I can't go in this! And I don't have anything dressy to wear! I'm definitely not going in anything of Mitani's, that's for sure. Besides, what if they recognise me? What would I do then?" He shook his head in despair; perhaps he really couldn't go after all.  
  
But Sai's grin just widened in response. "Don't worry," he replied, growing serious. "I've already taken that into account. No one will recognise you in this."  
  
"What..." Akira began to ask but Sai had already waved his fan. A shower of Go stones and poof! He could do little but blink in utter disbelief at the sight that welcomed him. He was wearing... a dress! It was simple, cream- coloured and quite pretty, actually but... it was a dress. Well, more like a gown really, adorned with rosettes and accompanied by a wide brim hat and lacy gloves of similar design. "I can't go in this!" he exclaimed, taking a step towards Sai and nearly falling as he teetered on the pair of matching stilettos he was wearing. He had seen Akari and other women wear shoes like these before and they never seemed to have a problem walking; he was going to have to learn how they did it someday. They were the most precarious things to stand on! He continuously felt like he was going to trip and fall flat on his face.  
  
"Yes, you can," came the response. "And absolutely no one will recognise you in this."  
  
"But I can't breathe!" he protested. The outfit felt really tight at the top.  
  
"That's what corsets do, Akira. They are made to impede your breathing so you can fit into clothes you'd normally be out of shape for."  
  
He teetered over to an old mirror leaning against the attic wall and stared at himself for a very long time. "I look ridiculous," he pronounced at last.  
  
"No, you don't. In fact, you look really pretty in it," Sai assured him calmly.  
  
"I look like a girl!" he tried protesting again, poking the filler bra he was wearing.  
  
"Well, it's better than looking like a clown or a slut and you look and sound so much the part that no one will even suspect you were cross- dressing."  
  
Akira merely shot the fairy a dark Look in reply.  
  
"Look, do you want to go or not?" the fairy asked, losing some of his patience.  
  
"Fine, fine," he agreed grudgingly. "But I can't walk in these." He looked down at his shoes as he carefully made his way over to the magic Goban.  
  
"All the more reason to fall into the prince's arms. Get going," the other ordered and Akira merely glared at him in response as he sat atop the magic Goban. "One more thing. My power over these things ends at twelve midnight. So you'd better be back before then."  
  
"This really sounds like a fucked up Cinderella story," he muttered.  
  
"Right, whatever. Now, hurry up and tell the Goban where you want to go. Have fun!" the other enthused, returning to his three-year-old personality.  
  
"Magic Goban fly with me; to Wei Qi Palace carry me," he chanted obediently and without hesitation, the Goban rose in one quick motion and took off with him out the window.  
  
* * *  
  
The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan Shindou Hikaru sighed. He had no idea where the rumour came from that he was using the tournament as a cover for choosing a bride. He didn't even know where they got the idea that he was even interested in getting a wife to begin with! All he wanted was some good Go games and preferably ones that didn't come with insinuations and implications of interest from opponents who looked more at him than at the board. He had quite remembered ordering a Go competition and not a fashion exhibition but most of the people in attendance had donned ludicrous and fanciful clothing most probably invented by some crazed designer and swept right off the catwalks of the D.I.E.. The women, especially, were about a total of one square metre of cloth away from appearing naked, much to the delight of the old geezer Duke of Honinbou whom he had recently discovered to be a pervert. Well, at least he was only interested in women. Prince Hikaru resignedly turned his attention back to the board in front of him. He was playing Shidougo with Akari, daughter of the former Grand 'Duchess' of Ouza and stepdaughter of the Duke of Meijin. For a lady of two noble houses, her skill was pitifully lacking. Her brother, Mitani, had been only slightly better. What worsened the situation was the fact that Akari seemed much more interested in him than in the game they were playing; at least Mitani had had a genuine interest in Go. Akari was a pretty nice girl to talk to actually, at least regarding anything but Go. She was a bit shy, sweet, polite and rather friendly, and had a nice smile. But he really wasn't interested anyway. She was clad as scantily as any of the other women and he simply had to assume that it was both the influence of fashion trends as well as the circulating rumours. The actual objective of the tournament was to find a good Go player with whom he could play great games to the mutual betterment of skills. It wasn't as if he didn't already know quite a few great players. Duke Kuwabara Honinbou, Duke Touya Meijin, current Duke Kurata Ouza, Duke Waya Kisei, Duke Isumi Gosei, Duke Ogata Jyudan, and his own cousin, the former Duke Fukui Tengen and now Ken Prince of the D.I.E., were very good players indeed. However, they weren't quite right somehow and he could only guess that there was something missing. Besides, there might be many even better players among the commoners who had thus far been living in the shadow of the nobility and he thought that it was high time they got a chance to prove themselves in this free competition, of which the actual competing would begin tomorrow evening. The third night would draw to an end with the announcement of the winner, whom he himself would play before the closing ceremony. Currently, they were in the opening part of the competition and the activity was generally a free-for-all Go summit. He had insisted that everyone could ask anyone, including himself, for a game and the person asked should be obliged to accept the challenge unless he had an extremely good and reasonable excuse to decline. But presently, this game was boring him sick.  
  
"Um... Lady Akari?" he began.  
  
"Yes, Your Highness?" She gave a shy smile.  
  
"I'm tired and I'd like a break. What say you we call it a day?" he suggested, somehow finding a usually absent well of tact from somewhere.  
  
"Certainly, Your Highness. Whatever you say." She rose and curtseyed gracefully as the servants began to clear the board and backed out of the room before turning and walking away, obviously disappointed in his lack of interest in her.  
  
The Crown Prince sighed once more. Was a challenging and interesting game of Go too much to ask for?  
  
* * *  
  
"My loss, twelve and a half moku," Akira conceded. Somehow, he had caught the eye of Duke Ogata Jyudan who had attempted some sort of flirting with him before the game, thinking him to be a noblewoman of some sort. Well, at least the duke was an extremely strong player.  
  
"Hmm... You're a strong and talented player, lady. And you are...?"  
  
"Um..." he struggled to come up with an identity. "Aki of the house of Suji, distant relative to the Mayor of Baduk, Your Grace," he managed.  
  
"May I have the pleasure of your company for the rest of the evening then, Lady Aki?" the Duke requested evenly.  
  
"Uh..." And how did one politely tell a duke 'no'? "Um... Well, I actually came to meet someone, Your Grace," was the best excuse he could come up with.  
  
"And who may that person be? Perhaps I could be of assistance in locating him or her," the other offered.  
  
Akira shook his head, no. "Please don't trouble yourself, Your Grace. I'll be fine on my own. Thank you." And with that, he rose and curtseyed as best he could before carefully walking off into the crowd without waiting for a reply from the Duke of Jyudan.  
  
He frowned, he still had a problem balancing on the shoes he was wearing. Not to mention the fact that the dress was making it hard for him to breathe. Well, he had to admit –however grudgingly- that Sai was right regarding how well he fit the part. He had received considerably more than his fair share of compliments on his looks throughout the evening, all from people who thought him to be the very pretty young daughter of a minor noble. It wasn't exactly too far from the truth; he was the son of the Duke of Meijin after all but it wasn't very flattering to have the world take you for a member of the opposite sex. To add to his irritation and increasing annoyance, he still hadn't figured out where the prince was and it was growing late. Add that to the fact that he had to be back by midnight and Touya Akira wasn't a very happy young 'lady'. Oof! He lost his balance on the stiletto and fell sideways onto what must be a young nobleman.  
  
"Careful, lady. There might not always be someone to break your fall," he heard a voice tell him.  
  
"Sorry," he mumbled, regaining his balance before teetering off into the crowd without even glancing up to see who he had fallen on.  
  
Meanwhile, Duke Waya Kisei bristled. "Hmmph! Should have let her fall. I deliberately stay in place to break her fall and catch her and I don't even get a word of thanks," the young duke complained. "Women," he snorted derisively. "A pretty face and they think they're on top of the world."  
  
"Waya, you're expecting her to thank you for doing something any proper gentleman would have done. At least she apologized," came a familiar voice from behind.  
  
The Duke of Kisei turned to face his lover and best friend, Duke Isumi Gosei and smiled. Then, with a sparkle to his brown eyes and a mischievous grin, he reached up to tug the other's dark bangs lightly. "Oh dear... I'm considered a gentleman in your opinion," he feigned a lament. "I guess I'd best do something about that tonight then."  
  
The older duke reached out to make a slight mess out of spiky brown hair. "I wouldn't put it past you, Waya; I wouldn't put it past you."  
  
"Isumi-san!" Waya cried, trying to get his hair back into some semblance of order. "Stop doing that!"  
  
It was a hopeless and futile task and he would give up after several attempts anyway, so the Duke of Gosei saw no reason to pay the other's instruction any heed. He was about to say something else when a voice distracted him.  
  
"Excuse me, Your Graces." It was the lady Duke Waya had helped just moments ago.  
  
Not trusting his lover not to give the girl a piece of his mind for not thanking him, Duke Isumi quickly took the liberty of answering. "Yes?"  
  
"I was wondering if you know where I can find His Highness Prince Hikaru, Your Grace," she replied, her voice a soft even contralto and her manners perfect.  
  
"He's over there, in a small room behind the curtains. His Highness likes privacy when he's playing his games," he answered easily as he pointed in the appropriate direction, not giving the Duke of Kisei a chance to get a word in.  
  
"Thank you, Your Grace." Akira curtseyed as best he could and quickly but cautiously made his way off in the indicated direction, leaving the two dukes to their own affairs.  
  
He wove through the crowd towards the thick dark red velvet curtains and ducked behind them. Akira made his way down the dim corridor towards the short flight of carpeted stairs and teetered up the steps, holding the wall for balance with every shaky step as he silently cursed the Go fairy for making him wear the shoes. At the top of the steps, he turned right and ducked beneath the velvet curtains hanging low over the doorway into a small room with dark red velvet on the walls and four glass- covered lamps for lighting. In the middle of the rather small chamber, there was a polished rosewood table and a dark red leather armchair on either side with a gold satin cushion each. At this table sat the Crown Prince, just finishing a game of Go with a minor noble. Akira gazed at the intricate patterns of black and white on the board between the two players and quickly determined that the prince's opponent was about thirty moku short. From the placing of the prince's white stones, Akira saw that the prince was indeed a very strong player... just like everyone said. But perhaps he was stronger than this game indicated? At that moment, the young noble rose to his feet and thanked the prince for the game with a bow. The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan turned... and their eyes met.  
  
The moment seemed to hang in time for Akira as the prince asked, "Play a game with me?"  
  
Those eyes... One murky green look and he knew he had lost even before the game had begun. The sheer intensity of them took his breath away and made his blood race. He could never say no to those eyes. And even as he took his place in the armchair opposite the prince, he knew that even if he won this game, there would never be another for him. He had lost... his heart... to the one person he might never have, the Crown Prince Shindou Hikaru. He nodded slightly, trying to regulate the beat of his pounding heart.  
  
"Um, would you like a handicap?" the prince asked.  
  
And the moment shattered. A handicap?! "What makes you think I need one?!" Akira nearly screamed. In his outrage, he had quite forgotten whom he was speaking to.  
  
Prince Hikaru blinked dumbly at his companion's outburst. Being Crown Prince of the Kingdom, he had never once in his life been spoken to that way. He quickly recovered from the shock and shrugged. "Fine, have it your way. We can play even if you like but don't go off crying if I crush you because I won't go easy on you." He grinned smugly.  
  
"You...! Play your best and let's see who crushes who! Nigiri!" Prince or no prince, Akira wasn't about to let Hikaru disrespect him before the game even began.  
  
The bleached-blonde simply placed a handful of Go stones on the board as the other placed down two and began to separate them into pairs. Even. The prince gathered the stones and dropped them back into their container as Akira placed his first stone on the 4-16 hoshi. "Who are you?"  
  
Akira looked up at the sound of the other's voice, distracted from his strategy planning by the blunt question. "Huh?" was the most intelligent reply he could come up with at the moment.  
  
"I asked you who you are. I'd like to remember the only person in the Kingdom who dares speak to me so rudely."  
  
The longhaired boy felt a slight blush coming to his cheeks as he recalled his utter lack of protocol a moment ago. "I'm sorry, Your Highness."  
  
"Don't. It's interesting. And you still haven't told me who you are," the prince said with a grin.  
  
"I... I'm..." Akira wanted to tell the Crown Prince the truth, but somehow, he didn't dare. "I'm just a simple farmer's daughter. This dress was given to me by a kind merchant, Your Highness," he lied.  
  
"I see." He did a komoku on the upper left hoshi. "And your name is...?"  
  
"Aki. Please call me Aki." The 4-4 hoshi.  
  
"Aki," he repeated softly before they both lapsed into silence as the game progressed.  
  
Stone after stone was placed on the board in turn and Hikaru felt his excitement building; Aki was very strong, one of the strongest players he had ever played. He had always known that there were perhaps many strong players among the common people who had been living in the shadow of the nobility, but thus far, all the players he had played against had proved little challenge for him. Being Crown Prince and Heir Apparent to the throne of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan meant that he was one of the best Go players in the Kingdom, but games weren't really fun if one didn't have someone exciting to play with. Not that there weren't any great players around; all the Dukes were excellent players in their own right, but there was definitely something missing somewhere. The prince glanced up at his opponent as he placed a stone in a hane on the board. And he knew. He took in the way Akira's slender fingers elegantly placed stones on the board with expert precision, the subtle way he scraped his fingertips on the Go stone he held when he was deep in thought about his next move, the look of intense concentration on the other's face, the fire in his eyes, the intensity of the air around him. He took in all these things and he knew. He knew what had been missing all this while. That electric air, that burning passion, that single-minded pursuit of victory... This was the opponent he had been searching for, his playmate, his rival, his Aki. They would be able to spur each other to greater heights of skill and all their games would be challenging and exciting. At that point, he decided that he wanted to play hundreds of thousands of games with Aki; he never wanted their game to end. By the time the game ended, Akira was ten moku short but he held Hikaru completely enraptured. There were some hands that might have been put to better use, but it was rather late to have realized that. They were both panting, hearts pounding and blood racing from the sheer excitement and intensity of the game. Akira hated losing with a vengeance; he didn't know how to handle losing, no matter how he appeared to feel about it outwardly. Ten moku was a lot in his opinion, especially after he had so rudely declined a handicap in his confidence in his own ability. Hikaru was extremely strong, as was fitting of the Crown Prince and Heir Apparent to the throne of the Kingdom. Hikaru, on the other hand, wanted nothing more than to play another game with him and another and another and another after that. He wanted to play Akira until he could memorize the very arc in which his fingers moved to place each stone on the Goban's polished surface, until he could see nothing but those fiery emerald orbs and the intricate patterns of black and white on a wooden backdrop.  
  
"Why aren't you in the competition, Lady Aki?" he asked breathlessly, looking up at his opponent.  
  
"Huh?" That was the most intelligent reply Akira could muster as he looked up at Hikaru, having been startled out of his study of the game.  
  
"I asked, why aren't you in the competition?"  
  
"Um... I uh..." Now, what was he supposed to say? He couldn't very well tell the prince that he wasn't in because his family banned him from playing Go and wouldn't even allow him to come, could he? "I... uh... didn't want to discourage anyone else with my strength, Your Highness," he lied, knowing how bloody arrogant that sounded. But well, he lacked choices in his reasons and beggars can't be choosers now, can they?  
  
"Cocky bitch," the prince muttered under his breath, too softly for Akira to catch.  
  
"I beg your pardon, Your Highness?"  
  
"Nothing. Shall we discuss the game?"  
  
"Yes, please, Your Highness. This hand here was a little premature. I should have gone here first before attacking this area," Akira said, gesturing at the respective parts of the board.  
  
"Yes, and then you tried a little too hard to rescue yourself here."  
  
"I see. Over here, you dug yourself in too deep and wasted many hands that could have been put to much better use."  
  
"There was thirty moku at stake. I wasn't about to let you have it."  
  
"But all I had to do was attack here and this entire group would be in danger. Those hands could have been used to secure this area."  
  
"Oh yeah? One cut here and your shape would have been utterly destroyed!"  
  
The gesturing became more violent.  
  
"Really? Like I would have to do any more than tsuke that to completely surround this group!"  
  
Their voices increased in volume.  
  
"Oh yeah? I would have survived in there even if you did surround!!"  
  
"Oh? Like say how? There isn't enough space over here! And what's with the 'oh yeah' thing anyway?!"  
  
Court protocol could have ceased to exist and it wouldn't have made a difference.  
  
"Yes, there is!! And what's my speech patterns to you?!" Hikaru yelled, rising so violently that the chair nearly fell over.  
  
"No, there isn't!! And you keep saying that!! Even during the game!"  
  
"Is to! What's wrong with that, stupid?!"  
  
"Is not!! It's annoying!! And I AM NOT STUPID!!" Akira practically screeched as he too rose with enough violence to nearly topple the heavy wooden armchair.  
  
It was going at about a hundred and sixty decibels right then.  
  
"Is to!! You've got issues, you know? And yes, you are stupid!!"  
  
"Is not!! I DO NOT have issues and I AM NOT STUPID!!!"  
  
They screamed on, leaning closer to the other with each word, each trying to shout the other down to no avail.  
  
"Yes!!"  
  
"No!!"  
  
"Yes!!!"  
  
"No!!!"  
  
"YES!!"  
  
"NO!!"  
  
No one watching or listening to this would have imagined that the Crown Prince would argue this way with a commoner.  
  
"Arrogant bitch!!"  
  
"Annoying idiot!!"  
  
Or imagined that he was even the Crown Prince at all.  
  
"I'm leaving!!!" Hikaru nearly shrieked out of the blue, whirling around and storming out of the little chamber, leaving a suddenly very stunned and confused Akira alone in the suddenly empty room.  
  
A/N: Hope you enjoyed it this far. Will try to finish this as fast as I  
can with all the rest of my fics. Please review! 


	3. Part 3

PART 3  
  
"Yes; yes, of course. I think the tournament is going very well. I'm pleased that so many players have managed to attend," Hikaru said in response to a question from a minor noble's young daughter.  
  
She was flirting with him and not succeeding in attracting his attention. Of course, she was very scantily clad and while he could appreciate a free show of beauty, it was starting to get annoying with everyone attempting to catch his eye and the one person he did want to be with was nowhere to be seen. Bad enough if it was just female attention he was receiving, but even guys wanted in between his sheets and were being less than subtle about the idea. Not that he had anything against sleeping with guys; he was, after all, flexible with his preferences. However, their blatant insinuations were just... well, blatant. And freaky. He had been mingling with the participants before the tournament and after officiating the tournament's commencement, with the guests who were not participating, most of who were the nobility. Thus far, he had been walking around maintaining the perfect manners and tact the court officials had spent more than ten years trying to instil in him with little success until recently. He was usually lying outright when he was trying to be tactful, saying modestly nice things about women's outfits he personally considered flat-out awful. So far, he had been either doing admirably or people were deliberately overlooking any misconduct on his part due to his rank and of course, the fact that they were practically dying to marry themselves or their children to him. His parents would have been proud. Sai would have been proud of his skills today were he around to see it. Suddenly, something –or rather, someone- caught his eye by the refreshments' table. Aki. Aki was here. His Aki had come after all. She was dressed in a pastel blue semi-backless gown with matching two-inch-heels. Her chin-length smoky-gray-green hair was kept in place with a simple tiara that had a chiffon veil over the back of her hair. Slender fingers held a half-empty glass of drink in her hand. The dress left most of her back exposed, the smooth creamy skin showing enticingly, begging to be caressed. A simple string of pearls circled her graceful neck and the dress' tight fit only accentuated her willowy frame. He made his way through the crowd and came up from behind to tap her on the shoulder, resolutely resisting the sudden insane urge to run his hands down her slender body. The desire to touch her was almost unbearable; only his desire to play Go with her was stronger. She turned around and surprised emerald-green eyes met his intense murky green ones.  
  
"Lady Aki," he said her name softly.  
  
* * *  
  
Akira had been late today, wondering whether or not he'd find the prince waiting for him with the Royal Hangman for the utter lack of protocol he had shown the day before. Thus, he had lingered, debating whether or not to go until finally, the desire to play the prince and Sai's urging had won over. The fairy spoke as if he knew the prince, Akira observed, saying that Hikaru wasn't the type to hang someone for something as petty as a breach in protocol. Despite how much he wanted to play the prince again, however, he had gotten the jitters again when he arrived and thus, hadn't gone in search of the two-toned-haired boy. Therefore, the last thing he expected was the prince to personally approach him with a subtle tap to the shoulder as he stood sipping his glass of sparkling juice at the refreshments' corner. In fact, he was so surprised upon turning to discover the other that he nearly dropped his half-empty glass of juice.  
  
"Lady Aki," the other said softly, a certain inflection to his voice telling Akira that he really wasn't intending to kill him. However, the same inflection sent a slight shiver up his spine for seeming somehow equally dangerous in some obscure different way.  
  
For a long moment, Akira just stared back at him, stunned and dumbfounded. Then, suddenly remembering his manners, he quickly set his glass down on the table and attempted to curtsey as best he could. "Y-Your Highness." He nearly managed it. Akira knew that even two-inch-heels, while quantum times better than stilettos, would pose him a problem; he just didn't know how bad the Fates had it in for him. He slipped halfway through the curtsey and fell forward... straight into Prince Hikaru's waiting arms, the other having noticed his loss of balance and prepared to catch him. Somehow, the other's touch burned his skin, stirring up previously unfelt longings in his soul and aches in his groin. The feelings were irrational and he blushed, embarrassed to be feeling this way. He knew he had fallen in love with the prince, but to want him this way, knowing full well that the other didn't love him, was stupid. But no matter how stupid, it was human to want what you can't have and Akira was human. And the want was still there, powerful and undeniable. Hikaru's arms circled his waist and the fingertips resting lightly on the small of his back were sending jolts of liquid fire through his system that seemed to inevitably end up somewhere south of the Equator. And Akira swiftly albeit reluctantly steadied himself and pushed away from that enticing heat. "I beg your pardon, Highness," he said as evenly as he could manage.  
  
"Huh? Oh, it's alright," Hikaru replied absently. The feeling of Akira in his arms had brought that insane urge to shove him against the wall and ravage his body mindlessly back full force. That creamy skin was as soft and smooth as it looked and he wanted to taste every inch of it. And that soft rosy blush colouring his cheeks was beginning to torment his libido. Hikaru wanted to bang him good; the only thing he wanted more was to play Go with him. "Play a game with me? I've been waiting," he invited calmly, resolutely shoving the lustful thoughts vengefully to the back of his mind.  
  
"Yes, please, Your Highness," Akira said, forcing his raging hormones to calm down. An exciting and challenging game of Go sounded like a really good idea to take his mind off such unproductive thoughts.  
  
He quietly followed Prince Hikaru back to the little chamber behind the curtains they had played in the evening before. He once again sat opposite the object of his desire and went through the familiar motions of Nigiri in silence. Hikaru was to be black this time. Hikaru placed his first stone on the lower left komoku and he responded with a lower right hoshi. The game progressed silently and all lustful thoughts were temporarily forgotten as both were swept up in the rush and thrill of the game before them, minds working relentlessly at trying to outplay the other. Stone after stone, black and white in turn, was placed on the board in intricate patterns, coalescing into graceful shapes on the expensive kaya backdrop. Akira knew he was short by about ten moku and he searched desperately for a comeback move. There weren't enough and the Crown Prince of Kyu-Dan's yose techniques were flawless as befitting of his station. By the end of the game, he had only managed to gain an extra three moku and he sighed. He really hated losing.  
  
/Well, at least seven was better than yesterday's ten,/ he consoled himself despondently.  
  
"Should we run the risk of bringing down the roof today?"  
  
The two-toned-haired boy's voice snapped him out of his mind's downward spiral into desolation. "Huh?" Once again, the best response he could muster presently.  
  
"I seem to recall that our last game discussion didn't go too well," Hikaru continued. /That was understating it big time,/ he mentally added dryly.  
  
Akira blushed as the previous night's quarrel came flying back to him, causing heated blood to flow right back to Hikaru's groin.  
  
/God, just when I had managed to stop thinking about that!/ he groaned mentally, that part of him between his thighs throbbing insistently and almost painfully. He could just see himself sliding his hands up Akira's silken inner thighs and his body's only response was to grow even hotter between his legs and for his member to throb even harder. Now he really wanted to screw Akira up against the wall until his longhaired opponent was nothing but a panting mass.  
  
"My apologies, Your Highness. Please, let us discuss it," Akira's soft contralto sliced through the less than decent images of himself forming in the prince's mind.  
  
"A-As you wish, Lady," Hikaru managed, trying frantically to keep his self- control and rationale.  
  
If Akira noticed the stammer, he ignored it much to Hikaru's relief. "I think you should have gone here instead of here back then, my prince. It would have secured this side and halted my advance here." He gestured at the area in question.  
  
Something about the way Akira said the words 'my prince' only served to arouse Hikaru's lust even more. He swallowed hard. "But here was more efficient for attacking and I expected you to come here anyway." He pointed at the appropriate intersection. Good, his voice sounded normal.  
  
"It was just five moku in comparison to the fifteen up for grabs here. Obviously, I would have chosen to pursue this side."  
  
"Well, obviously it wasn't enough for a victory," the bleached-blonde riposted snidely.  
  
Akira was furious all over again. "The overall outcome is not the issue when discussing!" He raised his voice considerably.  
  
"Well, you make it sound like I should always know what move you're going to play next and in case you didn't notice, I am not a precog! You're not doing too well at that yourself either!!" The young prince had no idea where lust and fury met and merged but all of a sudden, he was yelling in anger at what had only moments ago been the object of his desire.  
  
"The whole idea is to read ahead and I can't believe you thought I'd take five instead of fifteen!!" Akira screeched back, rising violently.  
  
"Oh yeah?! Well, I can't believe you missed this hane here completely!!" Hikaru countered, rising with equal force to meet Akira head on.  
  
"I did not miss it!!"  
  
"Oh yeah?! Well, I guess that means you weren't good enough to stop me then!!" came the prince's sardonic reply.  
  
Their voices were back to yesterday's hundred and sixty decibels.  
  
"How dare you!! Just 'cause you're crown prince doesn't entitle you to disrespect me!!"  
  
"Oh yeah?!!" the bleached-blonde challenged.  
  
"Oh, not the 'oh yeah?'s again!!"  
  
"I can't believe you'd actually count my speech patterns!!"  
  
"I can't believe you'd even stoop to using your station!!"  
  
They were leaning closer and closer to each other with every sentence.  
  
"If I'm a better player, then I'm a better player! Your not being good enough to beat me has nothing to do with my being Heir Apparent!!"  
  
Deep down, Akira had to admit that the prince was right, but he wasn't about to lose the argument. "It does if you're using it against me!!"  
  
"You're the one that brought up the issue of rank!!"  
  
"You're the one that started disrespecting me!!"  
  
They were just about sharing breathing space, eyes blazing in anger as they tried to shout each other down in vain.  
  
"Get the stick out of your ass, Lady! No wait, I stand corrected; it's a tree, a bloody sycamore!!" yelled Hikaru sarcastically.  
  
Akira was outraged; prince or no prince, Hikaru was not about to get off scot-free with calling him anal-retentive to his face. "Arrogant prick!!"  
  
The two-toned-haired boy's eyes widened. A direct insult to royalty warranted hanging upon conviction and this was the second time his smoky- gray-green-haired opponent had committed the crime. However, instead of ordering the other's execution, he simply screamed right back. "Anal- retentive idiot!!"  
  
"I am not stupid!! Stuck up jerk!!"  
  
"Yes, you are!! Stupid!!"  
  
"Am not!!"  
  
"Are to!!"  
  
Their foreheads were nearly touching.  
  
"Am not!!"  
  
"Are to!!"  
  
"AM NOT!!"  
  
"ARE TO!!"  
  
The Crown Prince of Kyu-Dan had absolutely no idea where fury ended and lust began. What he did know was that one minute, he was biting his opponent's head off and the next, he was kissing the other deeply and passionately as he pushed her against the chamber wall. And she was kissing him back despite the sheer ferocity of the lips pressed against her own. Aki tasted as good as he had imagined. The lingering taste of the juice she had been drinking before the game seemed to enhance her taste and he broke the kiss off to taste the pale flesh of her neck and smell her soft hair. She smelled faintly of soap and honey. Her almost fervent responses were subtly erotic in their own way and he was rigid from the very closeness of her body pressed up between the wall and his own. He slammed his hips against hers and she gasped loudly. He did it again and again, seeking to create more of that delicious friction and she could do little but breathe raggedly. Her arms held him close even as she told him he should stop, her slender fingers digging almost painfully into the flesh of his shoulders; obviously, her body didn't agree with her. His fingers trailed down her spine as he traced a path up her throat to find her now swollen lips with his tongue; he was going to bang her good right there and then and he didn't care what the world had to say about it. He lifted his knee, rubbing it against her inner thighs as he brought it up against her groin. The instant he came in contact with her heated flesh, she arched her back and whimpered in obvious climax just as the lust died in his body in his shock at his sudden discovery. She wasn't she; she was... a 'he'. Hikaru stiffened and even in the haze of afterglow, Akira realized with horror that he had been discovered.  
  
"You... You're..." the prince began, nearly stunned speechless.  
  
Despite how much he wanted to simply fall into the prince's arms, despite the strength of his desire to remain in that wonderful warmth, Akira pushed himself away from the bleached-blonde. "I-I'm sorry, Your Highness. It's late. I must be going," he said breathlessly and swiftly spun around and dashed out of the room and then the palace as quickly as he could without bothering about his slightly dishevelled appearance before Hikaru could say another word.  
  
By the time he had regained his senses, Akira was long gone from the palace, on his way home upon the magical Goban, trembling slightly both from the after-effects of his first climax and from the intensity of the myriad of swirling emotions within him. After looking around the palace for his cross-dresser to no avail, Hikaru returned to the small playing chamber where he had violated his effeminate opponent only minutes before to stare at the game still on the Goban. After a few moments, he walked over and swept the stones back into the respective tsubos. As he clamped the covers shut, he spotted something blue on the floor near the wall. He walked over for a closer look; it was Akira's blue chiffon veil. It must have fallen off the tiara while he had been busy ravaging the other's body. He lifted it to his nose and inhaled the scent of it. Honey and soap.  
  
"Aki..." he whispered softly to himself.  
  
The want was still there.  
  
A/N: I just love Akira in a dress, don't you? He's so pretty! I kind of  
reversed the roles here, but I really couldn't imagine Hikaru being  
passed off as a girl no matter what he wore, so... Anyway, hope you  
enjoyed it and please review! I'm working on this! 


	4. Part 4

PART 4

It was the last day of the competition and Akira was perpending whether or not to go now that the prince had discovered that he had been cross-dressing. Rumours spread like wildfire and he would not be surprised if he went to find himself the laughing stock of the palace guests. It was also probably a bad idea to see the prince after what had happened yesterday. He absently reached up to touch his collarbone, sliding his eyes shut; the prince had kissed him there yesterday. He could still remember the feel of the prince's lips on his skin, the taste of the other's tongue as they had kissed. Akira had never been touched that way before and he could almost see the other's fingerprints on his own pale skin.

He shook his head violently to clear such thoughts. What was he thinking? Shindou Hikaru was the Crown Prince of The Kingdom of Kyu-Dan; why would he even want him? When he could pick anyone in the Kingdom to be with, would Akira even stand a chance? Besides, he was Heir Apparent to the Throne and that meant that he needed heirs. Akira's gender was probably a disadvantage. Not to mention that the other had immediately stopped what he was doing upon discovering that he was a boy the night before; that probably meant that he was straight. He looked at the Go game forming in his mind and pondered his next move. To go or not to go? But he wanted to see the outcome of the competition and watch the prince's game with the winner. Finally, he decided that it was worth the risk and he placed the last stone down with a resounding pachi. He was going; perhaps he'd just work at avoiding the prince.

Crown Prince Shindou Hikaru silently berated himself for being stupid as he sat through the long and fancy ceremony of announcing the competition's winner. He hated all the frills of the lengthy ceremony and wished they could just get the hell down to business, but the Master of Ceremonies, Ochi, was a stickler for protocol and he was good at all this occasionally necessary crap anyway, so they couldn't quite get someone less anal-retentive about the concept. A certain Kiyoharu Yashiro –or soon to be Duke Yashiro Tengen, if things went well- had come out on top of the rest and he was to play against him later. Aki most probably wasn't coming today after what he had done last night. However, he had arranged for supper for two in his chambers that night anyway, thinking that he could always eat with Yashiro or perhaps Duke Waya anyway, in case Aki really didn't show up. He stood and walked to the table at the centre of the dais and bowed politely to Yashiro, a tall boy around his age with spiky white hair and intense black eyes, before taking his place. Intense... He thought of deep fiery emerald green orbs looking back at him across the Goban. It wasn't the same. It just wasn't. There was just something missing. Intensity or no, Yashiro wasn't Aki. Great Go skills or no, the feeling was just different.

He went through the proper formalities and proceeded to nigiri. Yashiro won; he would be white this time then. He waited for his opponent to make the first move. For a few moments, Yashiro simply stared at the board. Then, he lifted a stone and placed it right smack in the middle of the board before looking back up challengingly at him. Tengen. Just the duchy he wanted to hand over. Hikaru grinned smugly in reply and placed his stone a 5-5, deciding to see if his opponent had what it took to play this way. At least, even if it wasn't Aki, this game was going to be interesting. Yashiro went to the next 5-5 and he then decided to attack first. He attached his stone to the black one on the Tengen and Yashiro played a hane. He cut, the other extended. He did likewise and Yashiro did the same again. He finished the sequence with another extension and then Yashiro played on the third 5-5 and he played on the last. Yashiro's next hand attacked his upper right corner, but he decided to ignore it and attacked his lower right corner instead. If Yashiro continued the attack on his corner... Well, then they could always exchange corners.

The game progressed, the audience held enraptured by the intense fighting and sheer risk of the moves they were playing. No place on the board was safe. With every stone that landed on the Goban, one would land on the huge magnetic board for the audience and they would move closer to the edge of their seats. The moves they played were breathtaking, sometimes even defying all sense of shape and yet still so efficient at handling each other's attacks. On and on they played, fighting fiercely for every last moku with each stone they placed. Yashiro was definitely strong enough for a duke, Hikaru decided, and he himself was more than fed-up of being Regent of Tengen. Perhaps they could have a trial period. If he proved capable of managing the duchy well enough during the probation period, he'd make Kiyoharu Yashiro the new Duke of Tengen. Long ago, they decided that having more than one duchy under the same duke was too many and hindered proper management. Thus, they banned the nobility from having more than one title. Great Go skills or no, if you were Duke of Kisei, you were Duke of Kisei; you couldn't be Duke of Gosei at the same time. No one could have everything in life anyway.

Hikaru filled the last of the Dames and the game was over. It had been a great and satisfying game even if Yashiro wasn't as strong as Aki. Yashiro was at about Duke Waya's level, good enough for duke alright; that made Aki strong enough to be a queen. He imagined his beautiful Aki turning into his mother and quickly squished the thought for the simply horrendous images it evoked in his mind. They quickly proceeded with Seichi and the verdict was announced. With the komi, Hikaru beat Yashiro by 16.5 moku. The prince stood and bowed to his opponent, thanking him for the game. The white-haired boy did the same and they then turned and bowed to the audience who applauded their beautiful and exciting game play enthusiastically. As the Crown Prince of Kyu-Dan straightened, he caught sight of something –or rather, someone- in the audience. Even at that distance, there was no mistaking his gorgeous Aki.

/Looks like dinner for two was a feasible move after all,/ he thought as he descended the stairs of the dais.

The game was fantastic. He had never seen a more riveting match. Truly impressive strength and game play. Akira didn't regret coming; he would have been terribly disappointed to miss such a great display. He turned and made towards the refreshments counter to get a drink before leaving. Now that the game was over, he didn't see any reason to stay around and wait for trouble. He had been thankful when he came in today and nobody had started laughing at him for cross-dressing; evidently, the prince hadn't told anyone about his discovery. Well, at least even if he wasn't interested, he had been kind. Truth was, he wanted to see Prince Hikaru again. That burning touch, that sweet taste... He quickly shook his head to clear the thoughts that were beginning to torment him. When it didn't work, he did it again. The want, the desire, the longing was still there, as strong and powerful as ever. Akira downed the entire glass of juice resolutely as if to take his mind of the two-toned-haired boy.

/I really should leave now,/ he decided and turned to leave.

"Lady Aki."

That voice. He knew that voice. He would never forget it as long as he lived. Prince Hikaru. Against his better judgement, he turned around. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of the prince dressed in a tight long-sleeved velvet waistcoat fastened with golden buckles and rather tight-fitting pants all in navy blue walking briskly towards him. The memories of how he had been touched by the other the night before came whirling back full force and his body responded almost instantaneously to the images. He groaned softly just as the prince reached him and offered him a sunny smile.

"Lady Aki, I thought you weren't coming."

"So did I," he muttered back.

Prince Hikaru chuckled quietly. "You're rude, Lady. You always are," he remarked in amusement.

Akira blushed at that. "I beg Your Highness's pardon," he said, curtseying.

"Join me for dinner and I'll forgive you."

He looked up at the prince in shock. He couldn't have heard right. "W-Wh-What?" he stammered barely above a whisper.

"I asked you to join me for dinner, Lady Aki," the other repeated calmly.

He didn't think he could possibly have heard right. And yet, he had. The prince stood before him still awaiting his reply, smiling a beautiful smile at him. Could he...? No, Akira swiftly squished the thought. He was silly to think things like that. It was probably just dinner and then a Go game. But, then... Did that mean he didn't mind what he found out last night? Then...

"I insist, Lady," he pressed, still smiling.

"I..." Akira began.

"For just this once, I am going to take advantage of my rank here and make that a royal order."

Directly disobeying a royal order warranted execution; it was considered treason. Well, there was probably nothing to be done about it then. He lowered his eyes. "As you wish, Your Highness."

"Come with me," the other commanded, turning and leading the way.

Akira followed the young prince wordlessly back behind the curtains, thinking perhaps that they were going to the past two days' game chamber. However, instead of turning left and climbing up the steps, Prince Hikaru led him to the right and then through a set of double doors on the left into a beautiful and spacious dining hall. The smooth stone floor was made in the likeness of a Goban, with every hoshi and line in place and wooden tiles. Beautifully crafted oil lamps hung from the ceiling and an elegant stone staircase circled up on either side of the small hall. A long wooden table stood in the middle of the hall with ten chairs on either side and one on either end of it. Akira decided that the extra chairs were probably for guests or other courtiers, seeing as the royal family consisted of about five people. Just when he thought they were eating there, the prince turned and led him up the left staircase. As if knowing that Akira still wasn't too comfortable with the high-heeled shoes he was wearing, Prince Hikaru took his arm and helped him up the stairs. He smiled and let himself be aided as he teetered slowly up one step after another.

From the top of the stairs, they walked on down a beautiful long corridor and finally, the prince opened one of a set of double doors for him to enter. He stepped past the prince. There was a thick velvet curtain before him, hiding the chamber beyond from his view. Everything in the palace was luxurious, right down to the golden hooks the curtains were hanging from. Suddenly, he heard a latch slide into place and he spun swiftly in alarm. The prince had locked the door behind them. What... But then he came over to stand behind Akira and place his hands gently on the longhaired boy's shoulders before guiding him forward and pushing the curtains aside for him. Akira felt his heart stop beating at the sight of the four-poster king-sized canopy bed. This was a bedroom, not a dining hall! Did the other mean to...

"Ah, dinner is served already. Exactly the time I requested," Hikaru remarked suddenly, walking towards a small table laden with covered dishes.

Akira calmed himself down, walking towards the table. It was just dinner after all. Yet, there was something –disappointment, was it?- nagging at the back of his head. Did he really want that? Hikaru removed the steel covers and set them aside before pulling out the chair for him. He sat down obediently. The food looked delicious. There was a large plate of avocados in the centre; he didn't know how they cooked them, they just looked very appetizing. Then, there were two bowls of herbal soup, some sushi, some ramen, as well as apple crumble with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Everything looked positively mouth-watering. Of course, he rarely ever got nice food at home, but even when his father was around and he did get nice food, it never looked quite as delicious. The royal chef obviously wasn't the royal chef for nothing.

Hikaru sat himself down opposite the slender cross-dresser. Even if he was a boy, he was still the most beautiful person the prince had ever laid eyes on. Tonight he was wearing a peach coloured dress with puffed sleeves and a ball skirt. Too bad the Go competition didn't involve dancing; he thought Aki would have made a good partner tonight, assuming he did know how to dance, that is. The dress had pastel coloured rosettes sewn on to it, complete with green satin ribbon pieces as leaves. The light pink lace lining on the sleeves and cleavage really accentuated the other's soft silky-smooth skin and the matching wide-brim hat with rosettes and ribbon leaves like the dress totally completed the picture. He painted such a pretty picture. His Aki. Then, a thought struck him out of the blue.

"Is your name really Aki?" he asked.

The longhaired boy's eyes widened. "Yes. Yes, you can still call me that," he answered softly finally, lowering his eyes. "Your Highness," he added hastily, remembering his manners.

Hikaru smiled at that. "Let's start eating before the food gets cold and the ice cream melts," he suggested, lifting a golden spoon and beginning on the soup.

"You're generous, my prince. Thank you, Your Highness." He too began drinking the soup.

Perhaps it was just him but the more often he heard it, the more Hikaru thought that the way the other said the words 'my prince' really implied much more than just a matter of vassalage. There was a certain inflection to it that was simply... possessive. As he ate, he watched the longhaired cross-dresser do the same. He was eating the avocados now, scooping the creamy flesh into his mouth with a small golden spoon. Hikaru watched as the other's lips parted and then closed softly over the spoonful of avocado. Just the very sight of it made heated blood rush right down. He resolutely looked away and purposefully concentrated on eating his food. God, he wanted to touch him. Even if he was a boy, he still looked ravishing and Hikaru still wanted him as badly as ever he did want him. That longing, that desire was still there, strong and burning. And now that Aki was eating the apple crumble, lips closing softly around a piece of the sweet dessert topped with vanilla ice cream, the feeling was more intense than ever.

"Did you enjoy the food?" he asked conversationally, attempting to take his mind off the uncomfortable subject it seemed to be spinning around.

The other looked up. "Yes, of course, Your Highness. It was most delectable. Thank you," he replied, his manners perfect. Perhaps he had been wrong in saying that Aki was rude; he wasn't rude all the time, only when he was angry or annoyed. At any other time, he seemed a lot more polite than even Hikaru himself with all the court training the prince had received.

"I'm sorry."

"Huh?" Had the prince just apologised? Akira didn't know why he was apologising, but he hadn't imagined the two-toned-haired boy to be capable of that. Perhaps Prince Hikaru wasn't really as much an arrogant jerk as he had initially thought. Funny, though; although he had always perceived the other to be a jerk, Akira still craved him so passionately. He was chasing an unreachable goal, he knew, and yet he didn't want to stop running after it.

"I said, I'm sorry."

"What for, Your Highness?" Akira asked, puzzled.

"I said you were rude. I was wrong."

"Oh. It's alright. I did make such an impression, I guess." Akira smiled.

Hikaru was glad he decided to apologise to his cross-dresser. The smile he gave him in return was so beautiful. There were few better rewards. He finished his dessert and waited for Aki to finish his. The longhaired boy savoured every last mouthful of what was, to the prince, relatively simple fare compared to what was usually served during dinners with his parents. Obviously, Aki only got to enjoy such fine cuisine once in a blue moon. When he had finally finished his last mouthful of apple crumble, Aki looked up at the prince. "Play a game with me?" Hikaru offered. He had wanted to play Aki all evening, really. The game with Yashiro, while exciting and intense, was still no match for a game with his favourite cross-dresser.

Akira nodded. "Yes, please." He rose and walked over to where a Goban stood on a thick soft rug with a cushion on either side of it. "Your game with Yashiro-san was breathtaking. You were both so strong and the fighting was intense until the very end. It was such a risky game." He knelt down on the soft cushion. "I've never seen or played a game like that before today."

"You're stronger than him, Aki," the prince responded as he sat down on the other cushion.

/He likes playing with me better? Is that what he is saying?/ Akira wondered to himself. "Thank you. I'm glad you think so, Your Highness. You are kind."

"No, it's true. You would have defeated him. And if you want to make it more interesting, why don't we start like this?" And the prince arranged four ponnukis around the Tengen in the middle of the board, two each for black and white.

Akira's eyes widened first, then lit up with a steely determination to rise to the challenging and interesting twist to the game that represented. The ponnuki was a very good shape to have and having it in the middle of the board was a great advantage that didn't usually occur during the natural course of a game. To have two for each player already in the middle of the board at the beginning would make it that much harder to win, given that both players had such a huge advantage. In the end, it would come down to who was better at utilising the shape to his advantage. They decided to nigiri as usual and Akira won black.

Instead of trying to build up territory first as he usually did, Akira began attacking with the very first move. Hikaru smirked at that and responded accordingly, beginning a very long and complicated battle that began in the middle and spread to the rest of the board. No one area was safe. Stone after stone was placed on the board and territory was obtained painstakingly in small chunks of at the most, twenty moku. Whole clusters of stones died and even a small Ko fight considerably uncharacteristic of high-level games occurred. By the time they started on Seichi, they were both panting from the sheer excitement and intensity of the game they had played. Stones were moved into squares and rectangles anxiously; the game had been close and the victor unclear. Finally, they calculated the total with the dead stones and komi. With the komi, Prince Hikaru won by 1.5 moku. Akira sighed. He still couldn't beat the prince. Still, Hikaru was Heir Apparent after all; he was expected to be the best player in the land.

Akira began sweeping the stones back into their tsubos. "Can we reconstruct the game and discuss it, please?" he requested timidly.

"Certainly," the other replied, rearranging the four ponnukis in the centre.

They placed the stones again from memory. The game was etched deeply in their minds and they reconstructed it flawlessly. Finally, Hikaru slid the last stone into place with a conclusive pachi and the discussion began.

"This move over here was a bad hand from the beginning. You made the mistake of assuming that I would fall for the trap you laid and played this hand that was almost completely useless otherwise," Hikaru began.

"I realized that the instant you played your next hand, Your Highness. But here, you lost this chunk of territory because you dug yourself in too deep over here and my attack caused your stones to become heavy."

"True," the prince conceded. "However, in attacking those stones, you left this side weak and lost nearly thirty moku in the process. The thirteen moku you gained here hardly justifies it."

For some strange obscure reason he couldn't place a finger on, Akira found himself getting angry all over again. "Are you trying to say I'm bad at prioritising, Your Highness?" the beginnings of fury edging his voice dangerously.

Perhaps Hikaru noticed the angry undertone of the cross-dresser's voice. But then again, let it never be said that tact was his best subject; he had only recently acquired it anyway. "I'm not saying anything, Aki," he replied evenly. "The stones speak for themselves."

"Will you just stop being so God damned arrogant?!!" Akira yelled, his control on his temper splintering.

"Pray tell what's so arrogant about pointing out your mistakes in a discussion!" Hikaru challenged loudly.

So Prince Hikaru was right. But that didn't mean he was going to take it lying down. "It's not what you said! It's the intonation that counts!!" God, that sounded ridiculous, even to himself.

"Oh, so now you're being pedantic! Just what the hell is your fucking problem, Lady?!" The bleached-blonde rolled his eyes.

"You're the one that has a problem!!"

"Oh yeah?! Why don't you just get that forest out of your ass, so we can debate this again?!!"

Here they were going at it again.

"I didn't know it was a custom of royalty to insult people to their faces!!"

"Oh yeah?!! Well, I didn't know you could fault someone for returning a favour!!" he riposted snidely.

"I beg your pardon?!!"

"Note that you were the one that started insulting me!!"

True, but Akira wasn't about to let the other win. "You implied that I was bad at prioritising first!!!"

"Oh yeah?! Well, aren't you?!!"

"What?! You..." The longhaired boy was aghast.

"Look at the board. It speaks for itself," Hikaru said smugly.

"Arrogant jerk!!"

"I should have you hanged for your insolence!! Stupid!!"

"I am not stupid!!"

"Oh yeah?! Could have fooled me!!"

"Oh, quit with the 'oh yeah?'s, will you?!!"

And so they returned to a hundred and sixty decibels.

"MY SPEECH PATTERNS ARE SO ABSOLUTELY NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!!"

"RIGHT! AND MY PRIORITIES ARE NONE OF YOURS!!"

"THAT'S IRRELEVANT!!" the prince bellowed, standing up abruptly to glare down at the cross-dresser.

"IS IT?!!"

"FOR JUST THIS ONCE, QUIT BEING UNREASONABLE!!!"

"I AM NOT BEING UNREASONABLE!!!" Akira screeched back, rising as well.

"YES, YOU ARE!!!"

"NO, I'M NOT!!!"

And once again, it degenerated into a childish yes-no argument reminiscent of their last few encounters.

"ARE TO!!!"

"AM NOT!!!"

"ARE TO!!!"

"AM NOT!!!"

"YES!!!"

"NO!!!"

"YES!!!"

"NO!!!"

"YES!!!"

"NO!!!"

"YES!!!"

"NO!!!"

"OH, GEEZ MAN!! THAT'S IT!! I'M LEAVING!!!" And so Hikaru stormed out of his own room in a huff, leaving Akira, dumbfounded and confused, staring at the velvet curtains that hid the doors in the large and suddenly vacant bedchamber.

A few moments later, the door opened again and the prince stepped through the curtains. "In retrospect, this is my room. You should be the one leaving," he informed Akira tartly, holding the curtains apart for him.

The cross-dresser's eyes narrowed just slightly as he lifted his skirt slightly and strode towards the door. "Heh, you're just escaping because you know that you're going to lose the argument," he threw at the Crown Prince of Kyu-Dan as he passed, voice tinged lightly with bitterness.

In response, the bleached-blonde dropped the curtain and shoved the longhaired boy against the wall before the doorway. Hikaru placed his other hand on Akira's other shoulder and held his gaze. Emerald met jade and locked. "Am I? Aki." Akira found the inflection to his voice anything but safe.

For all his eloquence from a few minutes ago, Akira couldn't really seem to find his tongue right now. He was more trapped by the intensity of the prince's gaze than the hands on his shoulders, more undone by the way the other said his name than the way he had been shoved against the wall. And so he remained silent, staring back up into those murky green depths at currents more powerful than a waterfall even as Hikaru leaned forward to capture his lips in a surprisingly gentle kiss. Akira returned the kiss desperately; tonight was the last they would be together, since it was the last night of the tournament and tomorrow life would go back to the way it had always been before. The bleached-blonde broke off to kiss and nuzzle his neck and Akira arched closer to the prince. And yet, they shouldn't. Akira was probably making it worse for himself by succumbing to this, but he really couldn't help himself. Besides, didn't the prince already know that he was a boy? He touched his fingertips to the other's lips even as Hikaru trailed kisses along his collarbone. The Crown Prince looked up at him questioningly.

"We shouldn't," he whispered softly, looking away.

"But you want to?" It was a statement of the obvious, not a question.

"I... That's not the point," he replied, still avoiding the prince's gaze.

"But you want to?" the other repeated.

Yes; yes, he wanted to, but that didn't change anything. He closed his eyes briefly. "Why?" he asked, finally turning back to face the prince.

"What?"

"You already know, I'm not... what I claim to be. So why?" he elaborated.

"Does it matter?"

"What?"

"Does it matter? I thought everyone knew about my flexible preferences anyway."

So he truly didn't mind. "But..."

"Forget it, Aki. We want to and that's all that matters."

Before the longhaired boy could protest, he had claimed his lips again, unzipping the gown and then unfastening the clasps of the corset before that of the filler-bra. He explored the sweet recesses of the cross-dresser's mouth, sliding the dress down and rubbing his knee against the heated flesh of the other's inner thighs. Akira moaned into the kiss, helping the prince by shrugging off the restrictive clothing before wrapping slender arms around his neck. The bleached-blonde slid his fingers into the other's silken hair, tossing the hat carelessly to the ground as slender fingers found the buckles of his coat and began undoing them. The other gasped, kicking off high-heeled shoes as he tugged the rest of the dress off and lifted him easily.

Hikaru deposited his cross-dresser on the bed before removing his coat and began unbuttoning his shirt, when Akira suddenly groped for the buckle of his belt, brushing sensitive flesh hard in the process. The breath caught in his throat as Akira got to his knees on the bed and began to swiftly unbuckle the belt before working on his pants. He reached out and slid the remaining piece of clothing on the other down slender hips, exposing throbbing, heated flesh as the rest of the buttons on his shirt were quickly undone and discarded with the rest of his clothing before he climbed onto his bed, pressing his lover into the sheets beneath him.

Hands wandered and heated kisses were exchanged as moved against each other, immersed in the heat and pleasure of intimacy, wanting release and yet not wanting it to end. Akira let himself drown in the sensation, just forgetting about the future for once and held on desperately to the moments and emotions as the prince entered his pliant body to take him.

"Hikaru..." he whispered hoarsely, hauling himself closer to the prince.

"My Aki..." came the murmured reply, even as he felt ecstasy breaking over him in waves, drowning him in that myriad of feeling and sensation that was almost sinful in its bliss and beauty. And he lost himself in it, because he knew it would end, because he knew it was forbidden, because he couldn't help himself. He would deal with tomorrow when it came.

The grandfather clock in a corner of the room chimed half past eleven as Akira rose silently from the four-poster bed after what was probably always going to be the best night of his life. He pulled his undergarments back on and donned the dress, not bothering with the corset or the zip. Putting the hat back on, he gathered his things and slipped out into the balcony. It was a full moon that night. The stars were glimmering brightly in the sky as he summoned the Magic Goban softly. It came and landed silently before him on the granite surface of the balcony floor. He hesitated, turning back to give his sleeping lover one last look. He slid his eyes shut with regret.

"Goodbye, my prince," he whispered softly to the sleeping prince on the bed. "I'm sorry I can't stay. We were never meant to be. Perhaps it's better for us this way. I'm not the one that you need." He got onto the Goban, tears beginning to fall. "I love you, Crown Prince Shindou Hikaru, but that doesn't change anything. I'm sorry." He filed the memory among the ones he cherished most and turned away before he could change his mind. "Magic Goban fly with me; to the attic of Komi Mansion carry me."

As the Goban rose swiftly to the sky, one of the peach-coloured shoes Akira was carrying fell from his arms and landed on the balcony floor with a resounding clack. Akira stared down at it in alarm, but there was nothing he could do about it now. Sai never taught him how to stop the Goban in mid-flight and besides, he didn't want to risk getting caught by the prince in case he had woken up at the sound. Well, he didn't need the shoe anyway, so the prince could have it as a memoir perhaps. He arrived at the window of the attic just as his parent's carriage drove up to the front door of the mansion. Akira quickly stashed the dress and everything that came with it into the old oak cupboard and donned his old grey tunic. By the time his stepmother came up to check on him, he was already pretending to be asleep on the sleeping pallet that was so much harder and colder than the bed he had slept on earlier that night. Yes, it was probably better this way, but that didn't make it any easier. Who could tell the heart what to feel? And feel he did, even as he finally drifted off to thankfully dreamless sleep.

A/N: Yeah, one last chapter before my exam hiatus. Hope it is enjoyed and pray for reviews. Fujiko-chan!


	5. Part 5

**Akirella**  
Chapter Five

The Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Kyu-Dan awoke feeling out of sorts with a cranky disposition. Something was just not quite right that morning and he simply couldn't put a finger on what. Then, he realized the problem: The bed was cold. And he was positively sure it had been warm some time before. Aki. Aki was gone. He sprung out of bed with a start. Where could the cross-dresser have gone? He ran to the bathroom. No Aki.

Quickly, he donned a pair of black pants and a decently presentable white dress shirt from his cupboard and ran out of the room. He ran up and down the stairs and hallways, searching for his cross-dresser, asking the maids if they had seen anyone by the other's general description, but the answer was 'no'. Aki was nowhere to be found and no one had seen her... him go by. Downcast, he returned to his room and sat on the bed he had shared with the longhaired boy the night before. He jumped up then and made his way over to the balcony; he needed to think. That was when he caught sight of a peach-coloured object on the granite floor.

He hurried over to it. Aki's shoe. But why was it only the left side? Surely, the other couldn't have... He looked in horror over the balcony railing. No mincemeat Aki splayed on the palace grounds, much to his relief. But that didn't explain why the shoe was on the balcony floor instead of somewhere in the courtyard. He brought the shoe in to place atop a chest of teakwood drawers, lost in thought. Still deep in contemplation, he wandered down the polished stone staircase to the dining hall. By the time he arrived at the breakfast table to face his parents, he had already made up his mind.

"Father, Mother, good morning and I have a request," was his greeting that morning.

Thus it was that Crown Prince Shindou Hikaru began a kind of Go pilgrimage, going from duchy to duchy, city to city, town to town, village to village, and house to house in search of a great player among the common populace based on the reasoning that there might have been some good players that did not join the competition because they were too impoverished to either make the journey or properly attire themselves. Of course, he was, in reality, looking for Aki, but no one was supposed to know that. There were still rumours spreading, naturally, that he had been dissatisfied with those that turned up for the competition and was now searching through the entire kingdom for a suitable wife. Well, they had no idea how close they were to the truth; he had already found his ideal wife, but he was lost somewhere in the kingdom.

He began his travels in the duchy of Tengen, skipping his own hometown temporarily, since it was a high-end area and no one who wasn't sufficiently affluent to attend the competition lived there, and meanwhile checked up on Yashiro's management skills. Having found them satisfactory, he penned a letter back to his parents before continuing his journey through the duchy and into the next, Gosei. There he paid the Grand Duke of Gosei a visit, only to find Duke Waya Kisei staying with his lover for the fortnight. He swiftly made his rounds through the duchy, enjoying Duke Isumi Gosei's hospitality and both the Dukes' company, before following Duke Waya and his entourage back to his next destination, the Grand Duchy of Kisei. There he continued his search to no avail, still finding no sign of his beautiful cross-dresser.

Bidding his best friend farewell, he moved on to Ouza, a duchy he tended to avoid because the current Duke was just plain scary in his attempts to gain universal recognition as the second best player in the kingdom –which he wasn't, since that was a certain Ko Young-ha, the Mayor of Baduk, who was most likely to be elected the next Grand Duke of Honinbou after Duke Kuwabara finally retired-. He wasn't really even third, since that would presently be Aki –going by the prince's personal ranking of all the opponents he had ever played, and fourth was either Duke Isumi Gosei or Hon Su-yon, 'wife' of Ko Yong-ha and Lady of Baduk, because players didn't improve simultaneously or similarly. Therefore, it was no surprise to his entourage that his stay in the Grand Duchy of Ouza was the shortest thus far and that he was in Jyudan by the tenth day after his arrival in Ouza.

He arrived at Duke Ogata Jyudan's castle late in the evening, just in time to shower before he was presented with a feast at dinner. His favourite food, ramen, was served that night because it was a rather well-known fact that he had something close to an obsession with the noodles, and he made polite conversation as he dined alone with the Grand Duke, who was still a bachelor with an aquarium of fish in every room for company and a paedophiliac. Prince Hikaru was rather thankful that he was Crown Prince of the Kingdom and thus protected from any form of assault by his superior rank. He was rather weary from his travels, and had by now, nearly given up hope of ever finding his lovely cross-dresser. He was, however, relieved to be out of Ouza, and the older man's quiet company was a pleasant respite from the noisy and narcissistic Duke Kurata Ouza.

"I hear that this journey is nothing more than a cover for your search of someone, Your Highness," the Grand Duke of Jyudan prompted.

"Of course not. Where could you have possibly heard that?" Hikaru lied with a reassuring smile.

"Well, you know the thing about rumours... Say, you know, I met this girl at the competition who claimed to be a distant relative of Ko Young-ha's but when I met up with the good Mayor later, I was informed that he neither knew a relative who fit her description nor had any connections with a certain house of Suji she claimed to be from."

"I see, how strange."

"She was a rather strong player and she declined to accompany me as she claimed to be looking for someone."

"Oh, so who was she looking for?"

"According to the Dukes of Kisei and Gosei with whom I spoke later, that would be you, Your Highness," came the Duke's reply.

"I see. Well, I met quite a fair number of ladies at the tournament, so I really wouldn't know which one you're talking about, my lord duke."

"Chin-length smoky gray-green hair, about your height...

Could it be? The prince felt his heart skip a beat.

"... Emerald green eyes, soft-spoken with a deep contralto..."

That was probably the only lead he had gotten thus far in his journey, which by now, was going on six-months long. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his heart's rapid pounding.

"... Very decently clad, unlike the others, but seems to always have a problem walking. Ring any bells, Your Highness?"

Oh, the good duke had no idea just how many giant church bells that description rung. Right now, the bleached-blonde felt like promoting the Duke to an Earl and making Jyudan an Earldom proper. But still, he calmed himself down, maintaining his expression. He still didn't know where to find Aki and besides that, he had just recalled something else important. "Well, yes, it does, in fact, ring a bell." So that was understating it big time. So he didn't care. "However, she introduced herself to me rather differently. She told me she was a poor farmer's daughter and that she had received the dresses from a kind merchant." Of course, now that he had found out about her lying about her gender, he doubted that was true either.

"I see. So she's been lying to everyone about her identity then."

"Indeed, among many other things," he agreed. "Well, I've made stops at nearly every house throughout my journey thus far and I have not seen that girl anywhere, really, be it in peasants' huts or rich men's houses," he quickly said before the older man could ask any questions.

"You know, come to think of it, she looked pretty familiar."

"Really?" Hikaru asked, feigning only mild interest.

"Yes, my prince. You see, the Duke of Meijin and I are rather close friends, or perhaps I should say we were rather close friends until he married the good Dowager 'Duchess'."

The prince, for once, simply remained silent and nodded for his vassal to continue.

"I'm sure you know he had a son from his previous marriage."

Prince Hikaru nodded again. He was beginning to understand, he thought.

"Well, I haven't seen the boy in some time, but that girl looked an amazing lot like the late Duchess Akiko, though."

"I see..."

"Oh, one more thing, Your Highness. She introduced herself by the name of Aki... I'm pretty certain the boy's name was Akira, Touya Akira. Do you..." the Duke of Jyudan trailed off into silence upon noticing that his liege lord had abruptly stood up.

"My lord duke, I'm afraid I will be cutting my stay a little short. I will leave to Meijin in a week."

"Certainly, Your Highness. As you wish," was all the duke had to say.

Akira sat by the riverbank in his father's estate, dressed in the normal drab grey tunic and washing Go stones as usual. It was a hot sunny day and he had just finished wiping a full thirty Gobans. He felt hot, thirsty, sweaty, and grimy, not a very nice feeling to begin with. Add to that the longings he kept hidden deep within his soul, and Touya Akira wasn't a very happy boy. Absently, he wondered how the prince was. He had heard that the prince had gone on a journey around the kingdom, travelling from house to house in a move to better acquaint himself with his people and find strong players among the commoners.

Despite the inherent possibility in the action, Akira absolutely refused to even consider the idea that the prince might be looking for him. So the prince had been interested that night. So what? It wasn't as if he was irreplaceable. The entire kingdom was probably queuing up in lines to marry the crown prince; what made him so special? There were probably tons of better people out there. Yet, still, he harboured that secret hope; he couldn't help praying that that whole Cinderella-style dream-come-true situation and happy ending might eventually be his, that somehow, he would be saved from this hell of an existence. That was when he heard it.

The horn sounded the arrival of royalty. Akira sprang to his feet in alarm. No, the prince couldn't be here. He couldn't let the prince find him. As quickly as he could, he tore back to the house, entering by the back door, and sprinted up the stairs to the attic. He shut the door tightly behind him and quickly threw himself onto his sleeping pallet and wrapped the blankets around himself, pretending to sleep. If the prince found him, he would most likely get everyone in trouble, or he might even be executed for running away without a word or rudeness or cross-dressing or... he didn't know, but it was best he remained hidden anyway. As if indifference or ignorance wasn't bad enough.

Crown Prince Shindou Hikaru made polite conversation with his vassal as the Grand Duke of Meijin accompanied him into the former's house. He really didn't care for anything the man was talking about; he wanted to see his son. However, asking for the person in question directly would be rather strange and a tad bit impolite, especially if the boy didn't turn out to be the one he was looking for. Apparently, the duke himself had not been home in quite some time. They had bumped into each other as the prince and his entourage were on their way to the Manor.

The duke had apparently been travelling around as well, visiting an area that wasn't under direct vassalage to the Kingdom, but had pledged allegiance to it. The area was known generally as the Chess, since its inhabitants were a mixture of Kyu-Danes, Keimarians, and a rather large number of aborigines, who played just about any kind of chess in existence. The people there called themselves the Free Peoples of The Chess and one wouldn't think too highly of the security there. However, since harming a duke would mean treachery to the Kingdom, Touya Meijin had apparently escaped unscathed. The Free Peoples surprisingly had an official Grand Chieftain, a recognised Baron of the Kingdom, known as Li Ping and his 'Baroness' Chao Shii, the former being quite your idea of some kind of renegade chieftain and the latter being the Chief's ever cute and quiet 'wife' with some hefty Go skills (and thus, military tactics) to his name.

The entire Grand Duchy of Meijin was one large fort with defense towers at regular intervals, making it one of the hardest duchies in the kingdom to besiege. The only one with better defences was Honinbou, where the palace and Baduk, renowned as the City of Luxury, were located. It wasn't really the fortifications that made it stronger than Meijin; it was the fact that Honinbou naturally had the best army in the Kingdom, as well as some of the greatest military tacticians, namely Im Iruf-han and Wang Shi Chen, not to mention Duke Kuwabara Honinbou, Mayor Ko Young-ha of Baduk and his 'wife', Hon Su-Yon, as well as Royal Defence Advisor Yang Hai and of course, the Crown Prince Shindou Hikaru himself, who was currently looking to add to that collection of great strategists by bringing home his ideal Crown 'Princess'.

Anyhow, Komi Go Salon Estates seemed to be doing extremely well, the Gobans were clean and polished, the Go stones clean and oil-free, and the tables and chairs pristine and neatly arranged beneath large garden umbrellas for shade. It had grown in size, since the prince had last been here, and the number of tables had also increased. He looked on as the Duke greeted his current 'wife', a man the Crown Prince of Kyu-Dan had little to no love for, and stepchildren. The Dowager 'Duchess' of Ouza was always so overly zealous in his attempts to gain royal favour, it was having quite the opposite effect.

"Where's Akira?" he heard the Grand Duke of Meijin ask his 'wife' suddenly. That was precisely when the conversation drew his interest.

"I don't know, Kouyo-san."

He turned to his stepchildren. "Akari? Mitani?"

They both shook their heads.

"Well, go look for him, Akari. Tell him to come down to the hall dressed in his best. We have royal guests."

"Yes, father." She quickly turned and hurried off.

"Oh, and dear?"

"Hm?" The former 'Duchess' of Ouza answered absently. He was anxious. If the prince was here, then he would traditionally play the entire family this same night. That meant that he would end up playing Akira as well. No matter how he looked at it, there was no way to avoid that. And every single outcome from that situation was bad. Either the Grand Duke would discover that his son had been forbidden to play Go, or the prince might notice that the boy had greater talent than either Akari or Mitani and decide to commend him instead, or he would question why the boy had not attended the Kingdom Tournament nearly seven months ago. There was nothing good in the situation, but now that the Grand Duke was here... Then, there was nothing he could do about it. And if the kid found out that forbidding one to play Go was a criminal offence punishable by death, who knows what he would do.

"I said to please tell the kitchen to prepare a feast worthy of our guest tonight," the taller noble repeated upon finding that his 'wife' was still zoning-out, startling the other from his reverie.

"Ah, yes, Kouyo-san. Of course, immediately." And he hurried off to do as he was bid, still worrying about what would happen later that night.

"Oi, Akira."

"What is it, Akari-neesama?" Akira mumbled the question in feigned sleepiness.

"Father is home. He wants you downstairs in the hall. Go bathe and change in your other room."

Oh, so it was just his father? Then, about the horn? He rose and made his way out of the attic, rubbing his eyes. "Aa."

"Oh, wear your best and finest. The Crown Prince is here."

He froze. Prince Hikaru. His worst nightmare had come true. No. Could he just feign sickness? No, his father would definitely come to check up on that. Then, the prince would be obliged to come pay the son of the second most powerful Duke in the Kingdom a visit too. Looks like there was no way out of it then. Who knew what fate the prince had in mind for him when he was found out? And even if the prince left him alone, he would suffer an even worse fate at his 'stepmother's' hands once his father left home again.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" his stepsister demanded from behind, hands on her hips.

"Aa, I'm going." And he quickly made his way back the room he used only when his father was home to perpend the situation.

"Mou..." Akari complained. (Geez...)

Well, then, what was he to do? He could always run away and disappear temporarily, but his father was here, and besides, where could he run? He didn't really have anywhere to go. Akira sat in the room he only got to use once in a blue moon, on the four-poster-bed he only slept in whenever his father was around and his 'stepmother' could not proceed with his usual torment. He entered the bathroom and undressed before stepping into the shower. Even as the warm water rained down on him, he weighed the matter heavily in his mind. There really didn't seem to be a way out of this fix. He cleaned himself thoroughly, but quickly; he didn't want to keep the prince waiting, lest it be added to his list of crimes. He stepped out quickly and dried himself on a fresh clean towel before going to his cupboard. He hoped he had not outgrown any of his fine raiment in the time that he hadn't worn them. He browsed through the rows of clothes hanging there, wondering what to wear, when he suddenly heard the familiar shower of falling Go stones that he hadn't heard in some time, since the fairy had only appeared once after the Kingdom Go Tournament and that was a month ago. He spun around to face the familiar goose-like Go Fairy.

"Sai! Thank goodness, you're here! The prince is here! What am I to do?" he asked quickly, hoping the fairy had a way to get him out of this fix he was in.

"Go see him, of course," came the easy reply.

"That's not what I wanted to hear," Akira informed him, turning back to face the rows of clothing in his cupboard.

"Not going down in a dress tonight?" Sai teased.

"No! Not with father there!" the longhaired boy exclaimed in horror at the other's proposal.

"Well, don't bother looking anyway." Before the boy could say anything, the fairy had already waved his fan, and in a shower of Go stones, Akira was dressed in a viridian coloured long-sleeved waistcoat with silver buckles going down the front left and tight-fitting black corduroy pants complete with a pair of black polished leather boots with silver buckles.

"Do I really have to go down now? What if he decides to punish me? What if my father and 'stepmother' find out about what happened? What if..."

"They wouldn't dare touch the future Queen of Kyu-Dan. Hikaru's been looking all over for you."

"How do you know that?" the longhaired boy demanded then.

"I've been watching him. Come, I'll go down with you." The Go Fairy ushered his charge out the door and towards the staircase.

"What do you mean, you've been watching him?" Akira queried as they descended the staircase and ended up at the entrance to the hall.

"You'll see."

The former cross-dresser simply blinked at his fairy 'godmother' and pushed open the heavy wooden doors of the great hall.

"Father, welcome home," he greeted. Then, he looked up... right into those same murky green orbs that had threatened to swallow him whole only slightly more than half a year ago. Nothing could have prepared him for the sight of the Crown Prince in his yellow silk dress shirt and Prussian blue corduroy pants. "Y-Your Highness, I apologise." He dropped to his knees quickly.

Yet, instead of the expected reprimand about his lack of courtesy... "SAI!" the two-toned-haired boy exclaimed suddenly, jumping up. "You're here!" The prince tore over to engulf the chubby fairy in a bear hug. "Where have you been! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"Wait, you can see him?" Akira turned to ask, forgetting all protocol in his surprise.

"Of course, I can see him, Aki! I've known him all my life!" the other enthused happily.

"All your life!"

"Your Highness? Is something the matter?" asked a very confused Duke Touya Meijin.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. Sai! Quit being invisible to the world. You're making me look like a madman talking to thin air!"

There was a shower of Go stones as the Go Fairy grew visible to a very, very confounded Duke and his family who had just walked in in their finest clothes. "Well, I guess that wouldn't do for a prince."

"W-Who are you! What are you doing in our house!" demanded a mortified Mitani loudly.

"Mitani! Don't be rude to His Highness's friend," the Duke of Meijin reprimanded sternly.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Your Highness," he quickly said, dropping to his knees with the rest of his family.

"I don't suppose you've met my son, Akira, my prince."

"Why... Yes, I have, I believe. He was dressed rather interestingly at the tournament," the prince replied easily, much to Akira's horror.

"Tournament? But he didn't go," the 'Duchess' spoke up suddenly.

"Oh? Well, maybe it's someone else then. But why didn't he go with you then, my lord duke?" Hikaru asked Touya Meijin.

The older man blinked. "Well, if I remember correctly, he claimed to not be feeling very well that day."

"I see..."

"He did go, Hikaru," Sai said suddenly. "Play him yourself and see the truth."

"What?" Everyone had abruptly turned to face the fairy.

"But weren't you ill?" Touya Meijin asked his son then.

"No, he wasn't," the fairy answered for his charge.

"But how? He had no transportation... no..." Mitani sputtered.

"I helped him get there," answered the Go Fairy with a wave of floppy white sleeves. "Hikaru, you felt it then, didn't you? The connection."

"Connection?"

"The Hand of God. He's the other half of the key."

"Oh, so that's why you left! You could have at least informed me!"

"I did!" the fairy protested, reverting to his three-year-old personality suddenly. "You just weren't paying any attention! Hikaru no baka!"

"You! Do you have any idea what I went through!"

"Well, that didn't mean I could simply come back!"

"Bah! I'm not playing with you!"

"Well, Akira will play with me! Na, Akira?"

The presently dumbfounded Akira opened his mouth to reply, but didn't manage to get any words out before the Crown Prince, who wasn't currently acting very princely at all, grabbed his wrist and dragged him towards the table where the Duke and said prince had been playing. "No, he won't. Aki's my 'queen'. He'll listen to me!" the bleached-blonde declared. And he wasn't even asking for the other's opinion.

The Grand Duke of Meijin and his family were, however, thunderstruck at that statement. "Say WHAT!" The 'Duchess' demanded, a dangerous edge to his voice.

"I don't suppose you have any objections to Akira and I playing a game, do you, my lord duke?" the prince asked his vassal calmly, as if not even hearing the other man.

"No, of course not, Your Highness. However, I'd like to clear up some things before we begin." He turned to his 'wife'. "What is the meaning of this?"

"W-What do you mean?" The 'Duchess' faltered beneath his husband's intense gaze. Well, one would expect no less from the eyes of the Duke of Meijin.

"You said, no, all of you claimed Akira was sick, even the boy himself. Now, the Akira I know would have been dying to go to the tourney. So, if he wasn't sick, as we have apparently found out today, why would he lie to me and feign illness in order not to go?" the second most powerful duke in the Kingdom questioned the rest of his family calmly in the usual soft voice, but this time with an undertone sharp enough to slice cleanly through an iceberg.

He didn't get a reply from either his 'wife' or his stepchildren and he was about to turn to his son, when a voice spoke up.

"Perhaps because he couldn't go. Say... because he was perhaps... forbidden to do so?" Sai suggested somewhat slyly from beside the prince, trying to be subtle and like any Go player who was that good at the game, failing miserably due to utter social ineptitude.

"And they call me tactless," Prince Hikaru muttered beneath his breath. "Obviously, they never met you. You're a sledgehamer, Sai, on and off the board."

"I'll grant you that off the board, Hikaru, but not on it."

"Fine, a katana on the board," the Crown Prince acquiesced.

There was a bubbly nod from the chubby fairy with a cheerful 'Un!', before the mood of the room again turned serious as Touya Meijin once again turned to his 'wife'. "Forbidden?" he pressed gravely, the subtle threat to his quiet voice almost unnoticable.

"Now, that, Sai, is what you call true subtlety," the Heir Apparent to the throne decided to point out to his magical friend.

The fairy gave a huffy 'hmph' and turned away like a spoilt child that had just been denied his favourite treat. Akira, on the other hand, looked for all the world like someone who had just woken up to find himself on another planet. Maybe that wasn't all that far from the truth. He was so, so confused. His father on the other hand had not quite done interrogating his stepmother and was not getting a reply. That was when Akari burst out loudly and abruptly.

"That's it! That's enough! I won't have this on my conscience any longer!"

End Chapter 5

A/N: Just to keep in with my promise. Will update the full finale as soon as I can. Sorry, I know it's short, mad, and kinda rushed... Well, you know that thing about reliability and deadlines...


End file.
